“Branded Thoughts”
POETRY TO READ: “I like the sound of the accordion” taken from the book by Franco Arminio “Studi sull’amore”;
MUSIC TO LISTEN TO: “Just” – Radiohead
READING TIME: 3 minutes
It took four long years to convince me… now I don’t want to wait anymore.
No one can deny me a classic method sparkling wine!
In this period they are very trendy wines, full of biting bubbles that make them decidedly captivating. Then, in the tinkling goblet, chains of bubbles come together that emerge from nowhere, like small pearls linked together that dance and tickle the imagination. Effervescence is dynamism, a universe in continuous attractive movement, let’s face it… it never gets boring.
For an oenologist, making sparkling wine is always a difficult test. A bit like going against nature, awakening tumults of dormant ferments to try to create something new, unnatural. A stimulating challenge, contrary to all those who believe that making sparkling wine in the territories below the river Po is a waste of time. With so many varieties of white and red grapes located in a territory as complex as varied as Abruzzo, you can really indulge yourself. It would be foolish not to give!
“Memento audere semper”, this is the right approach to have. We are the region of “Signor Montepulciano”, true! But we are also surrounded by many white vines that are very interesting from a technological and organoleptic point of view. I am thinking of Pecorino, Passerina, Cococciola and Montonico, without forgetting “His Majesty” Trebbiano which is very often grown in some areas of our region together with another timeless protagonist of Mediterranean viticulture: Malvasia.
In this version of classic method “bubbles” I have re-proposed a cuvée traditionally used by the vintners of my places: Trebbiano Abruzzese and Malvasia. Two opposites that integrate perfectly together and complement each other by giving a hand to each other. A game of synergies that the Abruzzo winemakers understood very well to produce delicious still wines, which I instead propose in my version with a little more panache with a Satèn touch.
In short, looking carefully at the Abruzzo scenario with a technical eye, we have all the right ingredients, but now, like the most extravagant chefs, we need to give space to creativity by clearing senseless preconceptions, in order to obtain tangible results, tailor-made for the terroir that characterizes us, without forget that really interesting results can also be obtained from the periphery of the world of effervescent wines.
“Todos somos periferia” is the title of one of his books by Fernando Herrera, traveling companion of the harvest that has just ended. After all, how can you blame him! As history teaches, from the borders of the ancient Roman Empire, the cultivation of the vine has given rise after centuries to some of the most famous wines in the world, such as those produced in present-day Burgundy, Champagne, Loire and Moselle.
What was the great merit of this viticulture?
First of all, I believe, the ability to be able to see beyond one’s visual horizon, even being able to see a sunrise in reverse from a sunset.
Now all that remains is to uncork the bottle!
